WO2013084945A1 - Suction catheter - Google Patents

Abstract

A suction catheter (10) is provided with a hollow catheter shaft (16) and a liquid suction unit (18) comprising a flexible, liquid-absorbent porous body provided to a distal end of the catheter shaft (16). The liquid suction unit (18) comprises an outer layer (20) and an inner layer (22) and has an increasingly smaller pore diameter going inward in the layers, therefore adopting a structure where capillary action generates a force that moves liquid towards the catheter shaft (16) side.

Description

Aspiration catheter

The present invention relates to a suction catheter for use in endoscopic surgery, and relates to a suction catheter having a suction catheter shaft and a tip capable of absorbing liquid.

Conventionally, as one of the regeneration treatments for cartilage damage, there is a method of transplanting cultured cells and bone marrow-derived cells obtained by concentrating and adjusting collected bone marrow fluid under arthroscopy. For example, see the document “Clinical Orthopedic Surgery” (Sekiya Ichiro, Vol. 45, No. 9, Medical School, 25 September 2010, p. 791-795). Specifically, after preparing a cell suspension containing cultured cells obtained by culturing synovial cells collected from a patient for 2 weeks, a cartilage injury site is washed with a physiological saline solution or the like under arthroscopy Dissect (shave) while washing and remove the washing solution, and then inject 0.5 mL of the cell suspension into the cartilage injury site. When transplanting the cell suspension to the cartilage injury site of the knee, if the liquid (washing solution) is not removed sufficiently, the cells will disperse and will not remain selectively at the cartilage injury site and the cartilage regeneration effect cannot be obtained There is. Therefore, it is necessary to suck and remove as much of the liquid in the joint as possible using a needle and syringe, but there is a risk of damaging the cartilage tissue with the needle tip, and even if the removal takes place over time It is a problem that it is necessary to suck with a syringe many times because of oozing out.

Considering the above problems, it is preferable to suck the perfusate by inserting a suction tube instead of a needle and a syringe. In relation to this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-150052 discloses a mounting portion that is formed at the end of the tubular portion and is detachably attached to the distal end of the catheter, and a tip that is curved at the other end of the tubular portion. There has been proposed a suction assisting tool for a catheter comprising a suction part formed in the above, a mounting part and a tubular part, and a passage part penetrating the inside of the suction part. The catheter suction assisting tool is excellent in operability and can prevent a reduction in suction force of the catheter. However, at the site where the tissues are in close contact, such as in a joint, the tip of the catheter suction aid sucks in the tissue due to suction and becomes clogged, and further performs cell transplantation. In some cases, the transplanted cells may be aspirated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such a problem, and is capable of continuous suction of liquid without damaging tissue and preventing suction of transplanted cells during endoscopic surgery. An object is to provide a catheter.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by comprising a hollow catheter shaft and a liquid absorbing portion provided at a distal end portion of the catheter shaft and made of a porous body having flexibility and liquid absorbability.

According to the above configuration, since the liquid absorption part has flexibility, the tissue is not damaged during the endoscopic operation, and the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorption part is moved to the lumen of the catheter shaft. A continuous suction of liquid is possible. In particular, when the suction catheter of the present invention is used for arthroscopic cell transplantation surgery, the liquid absorbing part is made of a porous body, and therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the transplanted cells from being sucked.

In the above suction catheter, the liquid absorbing portion may have a structure that generates a moving force of the liquid toward the catheter shaft by capillary action.

According to the above configuration, since the liquid easily moves toward the catheter shaft in the liquid absorbing portion, it is possible to reliably suck the liquid.

In the above-described suction catheter, the liquid absorbing portion may include a plurality of layers, and the plurality of layers may have smaller pore diameters as the layer is closer to the catheter shaft.

According to the above configuration, the liquid moving force can be easily and reliably generated on the catheter shaft side.

In the above suction catheter, the distal end portion of the catheter shaft may be provided with a liquid permeable portion having a hole that is in contact with the liquid absorbing portion and has a pore diameter smaller than the pore diameter of the liquid absorbing portion.

According to the above configuration, the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorbing portion can be efficiently leached into the lumen of the catheter shaft via the liquid permeable portion.

In the above suction catheter, the distal end portion of the suction catheter can be operated by inserting an operation elongated body into the lumen of the catheter shaft or a lumen provided along the catheter shaft. It is good to be.

According to the above configuration, the operability is excellent, and the liquid absorbing portion can be easily disposed at a desired position.

In the above suction catheter, the liquid absorbing portion may be configured to be foldable at least before the liquid is absorbed.

According to said structure, when inserting a suction catheter toward the space where a treatment object site | part exists, since it can be contracted by folding a liquid absorption part, insertion with a thinner diameter is attained. Therefore, the degree of invasiveness to the patient can be reduced. Further, when the distal end portion of the suction catheter is placed between the tissues, it is difficult to shift and can be stably placed.

According to the suction catheter of the present invention, during the endoscopic surgery, the liquid can be sucked continuously without damaging the tissue, and the suction of the transplanted cells can be prevented.

It is a schematic block diagram of the suction system provided with the suction catheter which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the liquid absorption part of the suction catheter shown in FIG. 1, and its peripheral site | part. FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. 4A is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line IVA-IVA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a longitudinal sectional view of an aspiration catheter according to a first modification. FIG. 5A is a first diagram illustrating a method of using a suction catheter, FIG. 5B is a second diagram illustrating a method of using a suction catheter, and FIG. 5C illustrates a method of using a suction catheter. FIG. 5D is a fourth diagram illustrating a method of using the suction catheter. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid absorption part (when contracted) of the suction catheter according to the second modification, and FIG. 6B shows a liquid absorption part (when expanded) of the suction catheter according to the second modification. It is a cross-sectional view. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the front-end | tip part of the suction catheter which concerns on a 3rd modification.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the suction catheter according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For convenience of explanation, the ratio of dimensions between components in individual drawings and the ratio of dimensions between identical components in a plurality of drawings are appropriately changed and do not necessarily match the actual ratio. To do.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a suction system 12 including a suction catheter 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The suction system 12 includes a suction catheter 10 and a suction device 14 to which the suction catheter 10 is connected. The liquid absorbed by the distal end portion (liquid absorption portion 18) of the suction catheter 10 is a tube (catheter of the suction catheter 10). It is configured to be sucked by the shaft 16) and collected by the suction device 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction catheter 10 includes a hollow catheter shaft 16 and a liquid absorbing portion 18 provided (attached) at the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16. The catheter shaft 16 is a long tube-shaped member constituting the main body portion of the suction catheter 10, and a liquid absorbing portion 18 is coupled to a distal end portion thereof, and a base end portion thereof is configured to be detachable from the suction device 14. Has been. Specifically, a connector 17 detachably attached to the connection port 15 of the suction device 14 is provided at the proximal end portion of the catheter shaft 16.

The suction device 14 may have any configuration as long as it can continuously generate a negative pressure in the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16. For example, the suction device 14 includes a vacuum generating means and a liquid recovery unit (container). It may be configured. The vacuum generating means may be a vacuum pump or a pressurized air supply source and an ejector.

The liquid absorbing portion 18 is a porous member that is provided at the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 and has flexibility and liquid absorbability. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid absorbing portion 18 and its peripheral portion, and FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid absorbing portion 18 in the present embodiment is composed of a plurality of layers made of a porous material and stacked in the radial direction, and the inner layer has a smaller pore diameter (pore size). Specifically, the liquid absorbing portion 18 includes an outer layer 20 and an inner layer 22 made of a cylindrical porous body, and the pore diameter of the inner layer 22 (pore diameter of the pores 22a) is equal to the pore diameter of the outer layer 20 (of the pores 20a). Smaller than the pore diameter). A liquid permeable portion 24 is disposed inside the inner layer 22.

As described above, the liquid absorbing portion 18 is composed of a plurality of layers, and the inner layer has a smaller pore diameter, so that the liquid easily moves from the outside to the inside due to capillary action. In other words, the liquid absorbing portion 18 has a structure that generates a liquid moving force toward the catheter shaft 16 by capillary action.

The liquid absorbing portion 18 is not limited to the two-layer structure, but may be a single-layer structure, a multilayer structure of three or more layers, and the inner side regardless of the single-layer structure or the multilayer structure. A configuration in which the pore diameter gradually decreases toward the surface may be employed. Or the liquid absorption part 18 should just be the structure which can move a liquid to radial direction.

The contour shape of the liquid absorbing portion 18 is not limited to a circle, and other shapes (for example, an ellipse, a quadrangle, and a triangle) can be adopted.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IVA-IVA in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, a tube 26 is disposed along the catheter shaft 16. The distal end portion of the tube 26 is embedded in the liquid absorbing portion 18, protrudes from the liquid absorbing portion 18 to the proximal end side, and extends to the middle position of the catheter shaft 16 along the catheter shaft 16. An insertion opening 27 is provided at the proximal end of the tube 26, and an operation elongated body 28 can be inserted from the insertion opening 27. The tip of the tube 26 may be open or closed. In the method of using the suction catheter 10 described later, the operation elongate body 28 is inserted into the lumen 26a of the tube 26 until the distal end of the operation elongate body 28 comes into the liquid absorbing portion 18, and the operation elongate is performed on the hand side. By operating the body 28, the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10 can be adjusted to an arbitrary position. Further, the tube 26 may be a hard body, and in this case, the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10 can be adjusted to an arbitrary position without using the operation long body 28.

The tube 26 is not essential and may be omitted. When the tube 26 is omitted, the suction catheter 10a can be operated by inserting the operation elongated body 28 from the proximal end of the catheter shaft 16 like the suction catheter 10a according to the first modification shown in FIG. 4B. . That is, the operation elongate body 28 is inserted into the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 until the distal end of the operation elongate body 28 comes into the liquid absorbing portion 18, and the operation elongate body 28 is operated on the hand side. Thus, the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10a can be adjusted to an arbitrary position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 is provided with a liquid permeable portion 24 that is in contact with the liquid absorbing portion 18 and has a large number of pores 24 a that are smaller than the pore diameter of the liquid absorbing portion 18. Yes. In the present embodiment, the liquid permeable portion 24 has a lumen 24b that communicates with the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16, has a bottomed hollow cylindrical shape with the distal end closed, and the outer peripheral portion thereof is the liquid absorbing portion 18. Is in contact with the inner peripheral portion (the inner peripheral portion of the inner layer 22). That is, the liquid permeable part 24 is disposed inside the liquid absorbing part 18. 5A to 5D, the liquid absorption part 18 having the configuration shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D is exposed from the front end of the liquid absorption part 18, but the front end part may be covered with the liquid absorption part 18.

When the suction device 14 applies negative pressure to the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 and the lumen 24b of the liquid permeable portion 24 communicating with the lumen 16a, the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorbing portion 18 is liquid permeable portion 24. Is leached into the lumen 24b through the pores 24a. Therefore, the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorption part 18 can be efficiently moved to the catheter shaft 16 side.

Subsequently, the material of each part of the suction catheter 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The catheter shaft 16 preferably has moderate rigidity and flexibility, and examples of the constituent material thereof include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polybutadiene, fluorine resin, polyurethane, polyester, polyamide, polyurethane elastomer, and styrene. -Various materials such as thermoplastic elastomers such as ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymer (SEBS) and styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene copolymer (SEPS), nylon, PET, rubber and silicone elastomer. For example, PVDF, polyethersulfone, polysulfone, PTFE, polyethylene, fluororesin, cellulose acetate may be used as the constituent material of the liquid permeable portion 24 provided at the distal end of the catheter shaft 16 and in contact with the inner peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 18. , Hard materials such as triacetate, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, and nylon.

The constituent material of the tube 26 can be selected from those exemplified above as the constituent material of the catheter shaft 16, for example. The catheter shaft 16 and the tube 26 may be made of the same material or different materials.

The constituent material of the liquid absorbent portion 18 is not particularly limited as long as it has flexibility and liquid absorbency. For example, natural materials such as cotton, cotton, gauze, rayon, or polyester, polyamide, PVDF, PVA, Synthetic materials such as urethane, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone are listed.

The constituent material of the operation elongate body 28 preferably has an appropriate rigidity so that the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10 can be operated by inserting the operation elongate body 28 into the suction catheter 10. For example, stainless steel, iron or iron alloy, aluminum or aluminum alloy, metal material such as titanium or nickel titanium alloy, or polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, Examples include various polymers such as polycarbonate, polybutadiene, polyamide, and polyester.

Subsequently, the dimensions of the suction catheter 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The size of the suction catheter 10 is appropriately selected according to the site in the living body in which it is used. In particular, when used for arthroscopic surgery at the knee joint as described later, the catheter shaft Preferably, the total length of 16 is 5 to 1000 cm and the outer diameter is 1 to 30 mm.

The dimensions of the liquid absorbing portion 18 are determined according to the dimensions of the catheter shaft 16, but are preferably 0.1 to 10 cm in total length and 1 to 5 cm in outer diameter. The liquid absorbing portion 18 preferably has a pore diameter of 20 to 2000 μm and a porosity of 25 to 98%. The thickness in the radial direction of the cylindrical wall portion constituting the liquid absorbing portion 18 (difference between the outer peripheral diameter and the inner peripheral diameter) is preferably 1 to 100 mm. When the liquid absorbing portion 18 is composed of the outer layer 20 and the inner layer 22 as in the present embodiment, the pore diameter of the outer layer 20 is preferably 700 to 2000 μm, and the radial thickness of the wall portion constituting the outer layer 20 Is preferably 1 to 99 mm, the pore diameter of the inner layer 22 is preferably 50 to 700 μm, and the thickness of the wall portion constituting the inner layer 22 in the radial direction is 1 to 99 mm. It is preferable.

The dimensions of the liquid permeable portion 24 provided at the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 are determined according to the dimensions of the catheter shaft 16 and the liquid absorbing portion 18, but the overall length is 0.1 to 10 cm and the outer diameter is 1 to 20 mm. The wall thickness is preferably 30 to 200 μm and the pore diameter is preferably 0.1 to 20 μm.

The dimensions of the operation elongated body 28 are determined according to the dimensions of the catheter shaft 16, but it is preferable that the total length is 5 to 35 cm and the outer diameter is 1 to 20 mm. The dimensions of the tube 26 are determined in accordance with the part of the living body where the suction catheter 10 is used, the dimension of the catheter shaft 16, the dimension of the operation elongated body 28, and the like. For example, the total length is about 1 to 34 cm. The outer diameter is preferably 2 to 22 mm.

The suction catheter 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above, and the operation and effect thereof will be described below. Hereinafter, a cultured cell transplantation to a knee joint cartilage damaged part in arthroscopic surgery, which is a typical use of the suction catheter 10, will be described as an example. The method of using the suction catheter 10 according to this example includes the following steps (a) to (d).

(A) A working space is secured by injecting a liquid such as physiological saline into the knee joint where the cartilage damage site 30 as the treatment target site is present, and the dissection device 34 is inserted from one side of the knee joint. The arthroscope 36 is inserted from the other side (see FIG. 5A). Then, the cartilage damage site 30 is dissected (shaved) by the dissecting device 34 while the inside of the knee joint is cleaned under the arthroscopy using physiological saline or the like as a cleaning solution. In FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D, reference numeral 38 is a cartilage to be treated. Hereinafter, the dissected cartilage damage site 30 is referred to as a “cell transplant site 32”. Thereafter, the liquid in the knee joint (cleaning liquid or the like) is removed to some extent by using an aspirator or a syringe and an injection needle for arthroscopic surgery.

(B) The needle is removed from the knee joint, and the sheath 40 or port is inserted into the joint through the hole (incision) where the needle has been inserted. When the lumen of the injection needle is larger than the outer diameter of the sheath 40 or the port, the syringe is removed from the injection needle, the sheath 40 or the port is inserted into the joint through the lumen of the injection needle, and then the injection is performed. The needle may be removed. When the sheath 40 or the port is inserted into the joint, the suction catheter 10 to which the operation elongate body 28 is connected from the lumen of the sheath 40 or the port, the distal end portion (the liquid absorbing portion 18) thereof is near the cartilage 38, preferably Insert until the cell transplantation site 32 is located (see FIG. 5B). The proximal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 is connected to the suction device 14 (see FIG. 1), and suction is started. Further, after removing the dissection device 34, the suction catheter 10 may be inserted using the port used for the insertion of the dissection device 34.

(C) The operation elongate body 28 connected to the suction catheter 10 is operated to suck a liquid 42 such as a washing solution in the knee joint and around the cell transplant site 32 (see FIG. 5C). In this case, by operating the operation elongate body 28, the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be easily and quickly reached the desired position, and the liquid 42 remaining at the cell transplant site 32 is efficiently obtained with excellent operability. Can be removed. Moreover, since the liquid absorption part 18 has a softness | flexibility, a cartilage and a surrounding tissue are not damaged.

In the suction of the liquid 42, the suction catheter 10 specifically operates as follows. When the liquid absorber 18 is brought into contact with the liquid 42 in the knee joint (see FIG. 5B), the liquid 42 is absorbed by the liquid absorber 18 due to the liquid absorbability of the liquid absorber 18. In the case of the present embodiment, since the pore diameter of the liquid absorbing portion 18 is smaller toward the inner layer, the absorbed liquid moves toward the radially inner side of the liquid absorbing portion 18 by capillary action. Further, the liquid permeable portion 24 has fine pores 24 a, and the liquid in the inner peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 18 is formed by the negative pressure in the lumen 16 a of the catheter shaft 16 under the action of the suction device 14. Moves to the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 via the liquid permeable portion 24, and is collected by the suction device 14 through the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16. Thereby, the liquid absorption part 18 can always absorb a liquid.

(D) When the liquid in the cell transplant site 32 can be completely removed by suction with the suction catheter 10, the liquid absorbing portion 18 is moved to the long bone on the cell transplant site 32 side, that is, the femur or tibia, and the peripheral synovial membrane or muscle tissue. It is fixed (detained) by sandwiching between the two. When the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be fixed, the operation elongated body 28 is removed from the suction catheter 10. The suction device 14 continues to operate until the cell transplant is completed. After the operation elongate body 28 is removed, the injection tube 44 is inserted through the lumen of the sheath 40 or the port under arthroscopy, and the opening provided at the distal end of the injection tube 44 is inserted into the cell transplant site 32. It arrange | positions in the vicinity (above the cell transplant site | part 32). An injection tool (for example, a syringe) filled with cultured cells (cell suspension) is connected to the proximal end portion of the injection tube 44. When the opening of the injection tube 44 is disposed at the above-described position, the cultured cells are caused to flow out of the opening of the injection tube 44 by operating the injection tool and injected into the cell transplantation site 32 (see FIG. 5D). After the cultured cells 46 are injected into the cell transplant site 32, the cells are allowed to stand for a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes). When the predetermined time has elapsed, the suction device 14 is stopped, and the suction catheter 10, the sheath 40, and the arthroscope 36 are removed from the knee joint.

Through the above steps (a) to (d), the transplantation of the cultured cells to the cell transplantation site 32 is completed.

When the suction catheter 10a according to the first modification shown in FIG. 4B is used, the following steps (e) to (g) are performed instead of the steps (b) to (d).

(E) The sheath 40 or port is inserted into the knee joint in the same manner as described in (b) above. When the sheath 40 or the port is inserted into the knee joint, the operation elongated body 28 is inserted into the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 with the catheter shaft 16 removed from the suction device 14, and the operation elongated body 28 is inserted on the proximal side. Is disposed at the cell transplantation site 32. Next, after the operation elongated body 28 is removed from the suction catheter 10a, the proximal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 is connected to the suction device 14, and suction is started.

(F) When the liquid in the cell transplant site 32 can be completely removed by aspiration with the aspiration catheter 10a, the aspiration device 14 is stopped, the connection between the proximal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 and the aspiration device 14 is released, and then the catheter shaft By operating the operation elongate body 28 again by inserting the operation elongate body 28 into the 16 lumens 16a, the liquid absorbing portion 18 is moved to the long bone on the cell transplant site 32 side, that is, the femur or tibia, and the peripheral slide. Fix (dwell) by sandwiching between membrane or muscle tissue. When the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be fixed, the operation elongated body 28 is removed from the suction catheter 10a, and the proximal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 is connected to the suction device 14 again. The suction device 14 continues to operate until the cell transplant is completed.

(G) After that, by the same method as described in (d) above, the injection tube 44 is inserted into the joint under arthroscopy and connected to the proximal end of the injection tube 44 Is operated to inject cultured cells 46 into the cell transplant site 32. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the suction device 14 is stopped, and the suction catheter 10a, the sheath 40, and the arthroscope 36 are removed from the knee joint.

As will be understood from the above description, the following liquid suction method can be implemented by using the suction catheter 10 or the suction catheter 10a according to the present invention. That is, in the liquid suction method, the suction catheter 10 or the suction catheter 10a in which the liquid absorbing portion 18 made of a porous body having flexibility and liquid absorbability is provided at the distal end portion of the hollow catheter shaft 16 is prepared. And a step of sucking the liquid by bringing the liquid absorbing portion 18 into contact with the liquid in a state where the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 is set to a negative pressure.

As described above, according to the suction catheter 10 or the suction catheter 10a according to the present embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.

(1) During endoscopic surgery, the liquid absorbing portion 18 has flexibility, so that the tissue is not damaged, and the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorbing portion 18 is moved to the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 A continuous suction of liquid is possible. In particular, when the suction catheter 10 or the suction catheter 10a of the present invention is used for cell transplant surgery under arthroscopy, the liquid absorbing portion 18 is porous, so that the transplanted cells are not sucked.

(2) In the case of this embodiment, since the liquid absorption part 18 has the structure which generates the moving force of the liquid to the said catheter shaft 16 side by a capillary phenomenon, a liquid becomes the catheter shaft 16 in the liquid absorption part 18 inside. Since it is easy to move toward the surface, the liquid can be sucked continuously. In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, the liquid absorbing portion 18 is composed of a plurality of layers (the outer layer 20 and the inner layer 22), and the plurality of layers are closer to the catheter shaft 16 and have a smaller pore diameter. The liquid moving force can be easily and reliably generated on the side.

(3) In the case of the present embodiment, the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16 is provided with a liquid permeable portion 24 that contacts the liquid absorbing portion 18 and has pores 24 a smaller than the pore diameter of the liquid absorbing portion 18. Therefore, the liquid absorbed in the liquid absorption part 18 can be surely leached into the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 through the liquid transmission part 24, so that the continuous suction of the liquid can be performed more effectively. Can do.

(4) In the case of the suction catheter 10, the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10 can be operated by inserting the operation elongated body 28 into the lumen 26 a of the tube 26 provided along the catheter shaft 16. Therefore, the operability is excellent, and the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be easily and quickly reached the desired position. In the case of the suction catheter 10a according to the first modification, the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10a can be operated by inserting the operation elongated body 28 into the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16. The operability is excellent, and the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be easily and quickly reached the desired position.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the liquid absorbing portion 50 of the suction catheter 10b according to the second modification. In addition, in the suction catheter 10b, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component similar to the suction catheter 10 mentioned above. This liquid absorption part 50 is comprised so that folding is possible. Specifically, the outer layer 52 of the liquid absorber 50 includes a plurality of protrusions 56 that are provided radially on the outer periphery of the inner layer 22 and are arranged in the circumferential direction. Each protrusion 56 has a shape that tapers outward in the radial direction, and is configured to be elastically deformable and bendable in the circumferential direction. Therefore, before absorbing the liquid, the liquid absorbing portion 50 can be contracted by folding as shown in FIG. 6A to reduce the outer diameter, and when absorbing the liquid, the liquid absorbing portion 50 expands as shown in FIG. 6B. It is configured. Even when the liquid absorbing portion 50 has a single-layer structure, the outer peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 50 is formed in the same shape as the protrusion 56 described above, so that the structure can be folded as described above. Can do. In the case where the liquid absorbing portion 50 is configured with a multilayer structure of three or more layers, the outermost layer may be formed in the same shape as the above-described protruding portion 56.

According to the suction catheter 10b configured as described above, when the suction catheter 10b is inserted toward the space where the treatment target site exists (in the above example, in the knee joint), the liquid absorbing portion 50 is folded. Therefore, insertion with a smaller diameter becomes possible. That is, since the diameter of the sheath 40 (see FIG. 5B and the like) through which the suction catheter 10b is inserted can be reduced, the degree of invasiveness to the patient can be effectively reduced. Moreover, since the liquid absorption part 50 has the some protrusion part 56 located in a line, it is hard to slip | deviate when the front-end | tip part of the suction catheter 10b is pinched | interposed into the clearance gap in a knee joint, and it can be stably placed in a desired place. Can do.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the distal end portion of the suction catheter 10c according to the third modification and the periphery thereof. In FIG. 7, the same components as those of the suction catheter 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the distal end of the catheter shaft 16 is provided with a liquid permeable portion 60 that forms a flow path for moving the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorbing portion 18 to the catheter shaft 16. The liquid permeable portion 60 includes a tubular portion 62 coupled to the distal end of the catheter shaft 16 and having a large number of side holes 61, and a hollow fiber 64 disposed in the tubular portion 62.

The distal end of the tubular portion 62 is closed, and the side holes 61 provided in the tubular portion 62 are pores that penetrate the inside and outside of the tubular portion 62, and are spaced apart in the axial direction and the circumferential direction on the side wall of the tubular portion 62. Many are provided. The hole diameter of the side hole 61 is smaller than the hole diameter of the pores of the liquid absorbing portion 18 (specifically, the pores 22a of the inner layer 22). The tube wall constituting the hollow fiber 64 has a large number of fine pores, and a large number of hollow fibers 64 are bundled in the tubular portion 62 and arranged along the axis of the tubular portion 62. The hole diameter of the fine pores in the hollow fiber 64 is smaller than the hole diameter of the side hole 61 of the tubular portion 62.

According to the suction catheter 10c configured as described above, the liquid permeable portion 60 having the tubular portion 62 and the hollow fiber 64 is provided at the distal end portion of the catheter shaft 16, so that the suction device 14 is operated. Since the inner lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 becomes negative pressure, the liquid in the inner peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 18 moves to the inner lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 via the liquid permeable portion 60, and the catheter shaft It is collected by the suction device 14 (see FIG. 1) through the 16 lumens 16a. Thereby, the liquid absorption part 18 can always absorb a liquid.

In particular, in the case of the suction catheter 10 c, the hollow diameter disposed in the tubular portion 62 is smaller in the diameter of the side hole 61 provided in the tubular portion 62 in contact with the inner peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 18 than the pore diameter of the pore 22 a in the inner layer 22. Since the pore diameter of the thread 64 is smaller than the hole diameter of the side hole 61 of the tubular portion 62, the liquid in the inner peripheral portion of the liquid absorbing portion 18 can be easily moved to the catheter shaft 16 by capillary action. Therefore, since the liquid absorbed by the liquid absorption part 18 can be reliably leached into the lumen 16a of the catheter shaft 16 via the liquid permeable part 60, continuous suction of the liquid can be performed more effectively. Can do.

In the above description, the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Yes. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the arthroscopic cell transplantation operation at the knee joint is given as an application of the suction catheter 10, 10a to 10c, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the suction catheters 10, 10a to 10c according to the present invention can be applied to any surgical method that involves discharging a liquid. For example, the suction catheters 10, 10a to 10c according to the present invention are used for endoscopic surgery such as in the brain, intraperitoneal cavity, carpal tunnel, shoulder joint, elbow joint, spine, pleural effusion and ascites drainage. Can do.

Claims (6)

A hollow catheter shaft (16);
A liquid absorbing part (18, 50) made of a porous body provided at the distal end of the catheter shaft (16) and having flexibility and liquid absorbability;
A suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) characterized in that. The suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) according to claim 1,
The liquid absorbing portion (18, 50) has a structure for generating a liquid moving force toward the catheter shaft (16) by capillary action.
A suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) characterized in that. The suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) according to claim 2,
The liquid absorption part (18, 50) is composed of a plurality of layers,
The plurality of layers have smaller pore diameters as the layer is closer to the catheter shaft (16).
A suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) characterized in that. The suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The distal end portion of the catheter shaft (16) is in contact with the liquid absorbing portion (18, 50) and has a liquid permeable portion (24 having a pore diameter smaller than the pore diameter of the liquid absorbing portion (18, 50)). 60) are provided,
A suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) characterized in that. The suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
By inserting the operating elongated body (28) into the lumen of the catheter shaft (16) or the lumen provided along the catheter shaft (16), the suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) The tip can be operated.
A suction catheter (10, 10a, 10b, 10c) characterized in that. The suction catheter (10b) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The liquid absorption part (50) is configured to be foldable at least before absorbing liquid.
A suction catheter (10b) characterized in that.

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